Vanara literally “human with the tail of a monkey”. It popularly refers to the race of ape-like humanoids in the Hindu epic Ramayana who were brave and inquisitive by nature. The name Vanara could also be an abbreviation of the from Vana-nara (the humans (nara) settled in forests (vana)). The epic Mahabharata describe them as a tribe dwelling in the midst of forest. They were encountered by Sahadeva, a Pandava general who led a military campaign to south India.[citation needed] (Description of Vanara in Ramayana resembles a community called Jaarwa, who typically wear only a scarf (Langoti) around their waist and leave a small length of the same cloth thereby resembling a tail. (This is currently extisting in Andaman islands. Andaman was linked to the main land before ice-age.

According to the Ramayana, the Vanaras lived primarily in the region of Kishkindha in present-day southern India, in the midst of Dandaka Forest, where Lord Rama met them during his search for Sita. The Vanaras helped Rama in his search, and also in his battle against Ravana, Sita’s abductor.

The characteristics of a Vanara, as described in the epic are amusing, childish, mildly irritating, badgering, hyperactive, adventurous, bluntly honest, loyal, courageous, and kind. They are at least a foot shorter than an average human and their bodies are covered with light fur, generally brown in colour.

The greatest and most famous vanara is Lord Hanuman, a loyal devotee of Lord Rama. Some of the other notable Vanaras were Hanuman’s mother Anjana, his foster father Kesari, Sugriva, Vali and Angada.